U.S. patent application number 14/024121 was filed with the patent office on 2014-03-20 for modulated inline water heating system for aircraft beverage makers.
This patent application is currently assigned to B/E Aerospace, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is B/E Aerospace, Inc.. Invention is credited to William D. Aronson, Stuart Dietz, Sebastien A. Ramus.
Application Number | 20140076171 14/024121 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50273108 |
Filed Date | 2014-03-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140076171 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ramus; Sebastien A. ; et
al. |
March 20, 2014 |
MODULATED INLINE WATER HEATING SYSTEM FOR AIRCRAFT BEVERAGE
MAKERS
Abstract
A beverage brewing apparatus having a water heating portion and
a brewing portion, the water heating portion comprising a three
heating element tank having three heating elements, a three phase
power system, and wherein each heating element is powered by a
different phase power. Each heating element may operate with a
different heating capacity to better control the heating operation,
controlled by a processor that manages the brewing apparatus.
Inventors: |
Ramus; Sebastien A.;
(Olathe, KS) ; Dietz; Stuart; (Olathe, KS)
; Aronson; William D.; (Olathe, KS) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
B/E Aerospace, Inc. |
Wellington |
FL |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
B/E Aerospace, Inc.
Wellington
FL
|
Family ID: |
50273108 |
Appl. No.: |
14/024121 |
Filed: |
September 11, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61711848 |
Oct 10, 2012 |
|
|
|
61702602 |
Sep 18, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
99/300 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47J 31/005 20130101;
A47J 31/54 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
99/300 |
International
Class: |
A47J 31/00 20060101
A47J031/00 |
Claims
1. A beverage brewing apparatus having a water heating portion and
a brewing portion, the water heating portion comprising: a three
heating element tank having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet and
first, second and third heating elements therein; a switch
associated with each heating element, said switch controlled by a
processor; first, second, and third current sources; wherein each
heating element is powered by each current source.
2. The beverage brewing apparatus of claim 1, wherein each heating
element has a different heating capacity.
3. The beverage brewing apparatus of claim 1, wherein each current
source operates at a different phase.
4. The beverage brewing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor
actuates said associated switch for each heating element to control
a water heating operation.
5. The beverage brewing apparatus of claim 4, wherein each heating
element has a different heating capacity.
6. The beverage brewing apparatus of claim 1, wherein each heating
element maintains a balanced load with respect to each other
heating element.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Application Nos.
61/702,602, filed Sep. 18, 2012, and 61/711,848, filed Oct. 10,
2012, the contents of both of which are incorporated by reference
in their entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The invention relates to beverage heating systems, and more
particularly to a water heating system designed for an aircraft
beverage maker that utilizes heated water in the preparation of
coffees, teas, espressos, and the like.
[0003] Commercial aircraft have traditionally provided hot
beverages, such as coffee and tea, to their passengers. To that
end, galleys of commercial airlines typically include a beverage
maker that can be used to prepare coffee, espresso, cappuccino,
teas, and the like. As with many components within a commercial
aircraft, such beverage makers must be compact and light-weight,
and yet provide robust operations. In traditional designs for
beverage makers, water is stored in a heating tank prior to use.
The tank heats the entire volume of water to a desired temperature.
Once heated, the water is directed to a brew basket for infusing
with the coffee or other product. U.S. Pat. No. 7,861,644 describes
an apparatus for brewing beverages, including a three heater system
for an aircraft brewing system. In the '644 Patent, as is typical
in such systems, each heater is a single phase heating element. In
this type of system, when one of the heaters is turned off to
regulate the water temperature or fails, an imbalanced electrical
load can result, which in turn violates most commercial aircraft
electrical requirements.
[0004] Because most commercial aircraft incorporate three-phase
power systems, the electrical appliances on such aircraft must be
designed to utilize the three-phase power service. Three-phase
power is used because it is more economical and dependable than
equivalent single phase systems at the same voltage. In a
three-phase system, three circuit conductors carry three
alternating currents of the same frequency but different phases, so
that each current reaches its respective peak value at a different
time from the other two currents. The intent of the three-phase
design is that the phase currents cancel out one another, summing
to zero when the electrical load is linearly balanced. This results
in a constant power transfer, which reduces generator and motor
vibrations.
[0005] Typically, each phase voltage differs by only a few volts.
If voltages differ greatly, a load imbalance can result that can
result in system problems such as overheating, damage, undue motor
stress and wear, and damage to connected components. The most
excessive case of load imbalance is when a phase is completely lost
or shut down. The present invention is designed to avoid phase
voltage imbalances and provide a safer, more reliable beverage
heating system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention is a water heating system with a
plurality of three-phase heaters in an inline or tank water heating
system, particularly suitable for aircraft beverage makers. In such
a system, one or more of the heaters may be switched on or off to
control the water temperature rise and steady state heating during
a typical coffee brew cycle lasting three to four minutes. Since
each heater is constructed with a three-phase circuit, a balanced
load can be achieved and maintained as heaters are deactivated and
reactivated, overcoming the shortcomings discussed above.
[0007] The present invention maintains a balanced load with a
three-phase power system while providing a controller to regulate
the load to one or more intermediate power levels. An apparatus
incorporating the system of the invention is therefore particularly
suited for inline or tank-type water heating systems that are part
of a hot beverage maker, such as those used on commercial aircraft.
The system of the present invention employs a temperature control
system that allows the beverage brew temperature to be attained and
maintained in a safe and reliable manner. A software feedback
control monitors and regulates the water temperature to minimize
the temperature rise time and stabilize the brew temperature once
attained. To prevent water temperature instability, one or more of
the heaters are modulated on and off (controlled by the feedback
loop) as the brew temperature is approached to maintain the
temperature at steady state. Since each heater is designed with a
three-phase element, any of the heaters may be modulated while
maintaining a balanced load, thereby meeting aircraft electrical
requirements. The result is a more economical and safer operating
system.
[0008] The three-phase heaters in the present invention may be of
different power ratings to optimize the temperature control.
Moreover, the number of heaters can vary to allow the greatest
flexibility so as to regulate the water temperature at intermediate
levels.
[0009] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become more apparent from the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the operation of the
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a three-phase heating tank incorporated into a
beverage brewing apparatus;
[0011] FIG. 2 is an enlarged three-phase heating tank partially in
shadow;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a schematic of a three phase heating unit; and
[0013] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a control loop for heating the
beverage.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates a beverage brewing apparatus 10 that
incorporates a water heating unit of the present invention. The
beverage brewing apparatus 10 includes a housing 20 that encloses
the tank 30 having three heating elements 40. The tank 30 includes
a water inlet 50 and a water outlet 60, where fresh water is
introduced into the tank 30 through the inlet 50 from a fresh water
supply, and hot water is pumped from the tank 30 through the outlet
60 and up a conduit 70 to a coffee brewing basket 80 through a
nozzle 90. The hot water enters the basket 80 filled with coffee
100, which is filtered and flows into a decanter 110 where it can
be served to passengers.
[0015] The tank 30 (FIG. 2) includes the three heating elements 40,
which operate independently to raise the temperature of the water,
measured by a temperature sensor 120. The three heating elements
are each connected through electrical cables 130 to a power system
via connector 150. The power system is controlled by a processor on
a circuit board 160 which controls the operation of the brewing
apparatus 10.
[0016] FIG. 3 schematically depicts the electrical connections for
a three-phase water heating tank 30, including a set of three
3-phase cartridge heaters 40 mounted in a housing 20 that can be
incorporated into a brewing or water heating apparatus 10. Each
heater 40 itself is a three-phase heating element that utilizes all
three alternating currents from the three phase power system to
generate heat. In this embodiment, when one heater is disabled,
there is no voltage or current imbalance applied to the aircraft
electrical system. Each heating element includes a switch 180 that
can open or close a circuit based on instructions from the
processor on the circuit board 160. Each of the three current
sources 200a, 200b, 200c is supplied to each of the three heating
elements 40a, 40b, 40c as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, if a current
source failed, each of the three heaters 40 would operate as
before, only with two current sources instead of three. There is no
imbalance created by the loss of a current source, and the heaters
remain equally distributed with current from the remaining two
sources. If the letters A, B, and C represent three phases, it can
be seen that in FIG. 3 each heater is connected to a single phase
of alternating current, resulting in an even distribution of the
load across the electrical system. If any of the heaters are
disconnected, the load on each of the three-phases is diminished
equally so that imbalances in the loading are avoided. The load
rises and falls equally with each actuation and deactivation of the
heaters, resulting in a safer system with less imbalance and
noise.
[0017] In this manner, overload in the system is reduced or
eliminated. Thus, in the present invention, when one heater is
disabled, there is no voltage or current imbalance applied to the
aircraft electrical system. Conversely, in prior art devices, if a
single heater is deactivated, a significant imbalance may be
transmitted to the aircraft by the product. The latter condition
may be detrimental to the aircraft electrical system, while the
former promotes safety and economy.
[0018] Voltage is supplied to the heaters according to the
processor, which may regulate and actuate each heater individually,
allowing finer control over the heating operation. In a preferred
embodiment, each heater has a different heating capacity, from a
high heat to a medium heat to a small heat. In this manner, heating
can be controlled to a greater degree, allowing the system to
operate more smoothly and efficiently.
[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart for control of the heating
system as may be applied by logic in the processor, where each
heating element 40 has a different heating capacity. This can be
used for greater fine tuning of the heating operation, preventing
overheating and using the most efficient ramp for energy
consumption. Assuming there are three heating elements H1, H2, and
H3, at the onset of the heating operation 300 each of the three
heating elements H1, H2, and H3 are actuated in step 305. The
sensor 120 continuously reads the temperature of the water in the
heater 30 in step 310 and sends a signal to the processor
corresponding to the temperature T of the water. At some point T1,
which may for example be 80% of the target temperature Tf, the
processor causes the heating element H3 to deactivate in order to
slow the rate of heating of the water in step 320. The other two
heaters H1 and H2 continue to heat the water, while the sensor 120
monitors the temperature. If the temperature of the water reaches
T2, which may for example be 90% of the final temperature Tf, the
processor may reactivate H3 and deactivate H2in step 330.
Similarly, when the water temperature reaches T3, which may be 95%
of the final temperature, the processor may cause the largest
heating capacity heater H1 to deactivate while reactivating H2 and
H3 in step 340. Finally, when the sensor 120 determines that the
temperature in the heater is equal to or greater than Tf, all the
heaters are deactivated. In this manner, a finer control over the
heating operation is maintained and a more efficient use of the
energy occurs because the water is heated with less overshoot.
[0020] The present invention utilizes a plurality of three-phase
heaters in an inline or tank water heating system, particularly
aircraft beverage makers, where one or more heaters are switched
off and on to control the water temperature rise and steady-state
brew temperature during coffee brew cycles, which may last three to
four minutes. Since each heater is itself constructed with a
three-phase circuit, a balanced load is maintained and single-phase
heating is avoided.
[0021] It will be apparent from the foregoing that while particular
forms of the invention have been illustrated and described, various
modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the
invention be limited, except as by the appended claims.
* * * * *